


5 Times Nines Tried To Be Gavin's Valentine

by TheShipDen



Series: 5+1 [2]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, First Kiss, Getting Together, Gifts, M/M, POV Upgraded Connor | RK900, Pining, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 22:09:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17795657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheShipDen/pseuds/TheShipDen
Summary: “It’s very lovely, makes for easy steps and expellable footwork.” He makes sure his voice is suggestive, jams all the eagerness aside to make him sound unbothered, unprompted. He attempts not to let his systems heat up when Gavin raises a brow, interested.“Oh? Ya don’t say?” Eyes dance up and down his form, Nines shudders. This time, he thinks, this is the attempt that will be successful.“Yes.” Gavin smiles, so Nines quirks his lips into a smirk. He takes a step forward, offering his palm to the detective. He’s so close,so close-“I can show you, if you’d like.”





	5 Times Nines Tried To Be Gavin's Valentine

Gavin Reed was not an easy man to please. This, was common knowledge. 

 

As Nines has come to understand, many humans enjoy celebrating a day to ingest countless chocolates- even if it’s not recommended, and partake in celibate acts of kindness to one another. Often gift giving to those around them and attempting to be as nice as possible for only twenty-four hours. He doesn’t understand it. Not at all. 

 

But then he had met Gavin, his partner, the hotheaded steely detective with enough lip service to put the most hormonal teenager to shame. No one could deal with him, no one but Nines. And like a fool, Nines had fallen in love. 

 

He hadn’t meant to, not really. But he’s come to learn that emotions and deviancy left little to choice. He hadn’t known when it had started, but he just realized it one day as he stalked past the detective’s desk after a late night’s stay and found him passed out. He had been sitting incorrectly, putting unnecessary pressure on his pelvis and spine that would certainly curve it and make pesky problems later on in his life- so Nines had corrected it. 

 

Granted, he had done so without meaning to disturb his partner. He picked up the human, about ready to lay him back down in a better suited position when Gavin’s arms came up and wrapped around him, pulling himself closer and unconsciously snuggling closer to the heat that his components produced. Nines hadn’t know what to do. He had frozen. 

 

When he looked down, however, the detective’s face was as peaceful as he’s ever seen anything in his life be. Content and relaxed, not at all like the dirty scowl or nasty glare. He was so intrigued by it, by how responsive Gavin was even though he was resting, and he liked the closeness of their bodies. The contact, the touch. Everything. So he sat down on the chair, let Gavin shift and squirm around himself until he was comfortable and settled back down. Nines even had his jacket shrugged off and draped it around the human. 

 

And like that they stayed for hours, until Gavin woke up and gawked at him as if he were insane. The resulting blush and embarrassed sputtering was enough to make Nines’s pump melt. How peculiar, but the feeling left his skin tingling and a weird desire arose. 

 

More instances like that happened; the briefest of touches between their hands, the leaning onto a shoulder, a mutual sarcastic bout of defiance, long nights spent in comfortable and companionable silence. They grew closer and closer, Nines made Gavin laugh and smile, he got invited into outings. It was all going swell, more then desirable. 

 

And then his deviancy made things difficult again. 

 

Because he wanted more then what he had and he didn’t know why. He wasn’t sure why he wasn’t content with the prospect of what they were but more enticed into the idea of what they could be. The mentioning of it was enough to his get systems all jumbled and his predictions turned laggy. After lots of research, and with the help of Connor, Nines found out that he was in love. 

 

Which was ridiculous and silly, absurd, even. Because he wasn’t suppose to be capable of such an emotion but here he was. Standing and melting when Gavin stretched and Nines saw the briefest of sections of his skin, the toned muscles of his abs, saw the biceps in his arms bunch tight and flex beneath the leather. He always had to recalibrate. And he was undergoing that now. 

 

Which brought him to his most recent problem of the day. What would a man, like Gavin Reed, accept as a gift for Valentine’s Day?

 

Nines knew the human feared the commitment and complications of feelings whenever love was thrown into the mix, shied away from intimate and meaningful conversations and moments. Nines had attempted to have them once before, hoping it’d change things, bring them closer- but Gavin only gave him the smallest touch and found a way to worm out of it. Nines had gotten frustrated and grew longing, more then actually receiving an enjoyable outcome. 

 

He could not get Gavin an extravagant gift; even if it was what he deserved. Nines had to think simple, small. It was hard. But he had a plan. Somewhat. Enough of one to bullshit his way through, as Gavin would’ve likely said. 

______________________________________

 

His first attempt goes about as well as a cat on skates. Which was, not at all. 

 

He knew that a bouquet of flowers was a bigger, more meaningful approach- and so he elected not to do it. In fear of angering the detective or scaring him off again, so Nines got only two simple flowers. Beautiful ones, or so he thought. 

 

They had been imported from Colombia, perfectly healthy, well taken care of, and neatly trimmed. Even tied together with a lacy ribbon that complimented their red and pink pigments. He had thought he’d done well and he was a bit excited to see Gavin’s reaction to them. Nines hadn’t left his name on a card or anything, he’d gauge the outcome first before admitting to something incriminating. 

 

But Gavin was alluding his desk. Hadn’t stopped at it once, instead he was zipping from the interrogation room, to Tina’s desk, to the break room, occasionally the bathroom, and then walking outside for a smoke break. Nines had tried to not be disappointed. He laid the flowers in a perfectly susceptible spot to be viewed from by approaching. And he glanced at it enough to know that the colors would draw anyone’s eye in to them. They were ripe for the taking. 

 

So why wouldn’t Gavin just take them?

 

The detective was entering the bullpen again, and he was storming his way towards Nines. The RK hid his excitement and carried on his very professional report that was very real and not at all made up. 

 

Gavin walked until he all but threw himself in his seat, settling up to the counter of his desk and getting onto his terminal in the matter of a single heartbeat. Nines waited with baited breath, looking at the man in his peripheral and just watching for something. Anything. His systems and programs were going haywire the longer the seconds ticked by and he got no reaction. 

 

He was certain that Gavin could see them, unless he was blind. Nines grew concerned if that was the case- until he considered the very real possibility that Gavin could just be ignoring them entirely. He frowned. 

 

Speaking up, he decided to address the issues as vaguely as he could. Which was by playing fucking dumb. The internet said it was a very reliable alibi. 

 

“Detective, what is that?” He cocked his head to the side, like Connor, just to cement the fact that he totally had no clue what was happening. 

 

“What’s what.” Gavin grumbled, fingers typing rapidly away as he didn’t even glance at the android. Nines tried not to let that falter his motives. 

 

“Are those flowers on your desk?” 

 

Gavin looks at him then, and Nines is carefully analyzing every feature he has. Trying to figure out if the man is upset or not before said human finally took a fucking look at the flowers. And there wasn’t a smile or any sort of blush, to his disappointment. And there wasn’t an angry burst of yelling or a hateful glare, there was no turning tail and running. Gavin just looked at them, uninterested and unamused but not annoyed either. He looked impassive. 

 

Nines wasn’t sure how to feel. Especially when Gavin only uttered a soft, “ ‘spose there is.” And returned to his task. 

 

Not before shooting off a text first. But then he was working and not paying Nines any more attention, wasn’t even looking at the flowers. None of his constructions constituted this result. He picture Gavin smiling, bashful, maybe even taking a swift sniff of the petals. Maybe rubbing his finger over one of the soft pinks, cherishing the sentiment and liking the smooth texture. That’s what humans did, that's what he has been told is commonly done or he should be expecting. 

 

Only, none of that happened. 

 

Not trying to look too dejected, or to be found out, Nines turned back to his own terminal. He tried not to frown too hard, perhaps this was a victory. Maybe Gavin would take them home and gush over them there, in privacy. Where no one could see him because as much as the detective liked to appear as cold and mean and tough- Nines knew that he wasn’t. 

 

It was a trait he quite enjoyed, was too fond of, actually. Maybe that’s what was happening. The thought made him feel better and he snuck another glimpse at his partner. His nose and eyebrows scrunched as he read over a file before diving back into typing. 

 

Tina sauntered over a few minutes afterwards, swiped the flowers right off of Gavin’s desk and when he held up his hand, she gave it a small cheery high five. The officer put the red one to her nose, inhaled with closed eyes and a content smile while Gavin toiled at his essay that was steadily lengthening. 

 

“Bet money; Receptionist.” 

 

Gavin only cackled, looking over the stem and ribbons and finally smiling. Only, it was teasing. It didn’t look like the stock photos of admiration he’s looked up, nor was it as bright and appreciative as Tina’s when she gazed down at them. 

 

“No fuckin’ way, has to be Ben. You know the guy’s too nice.”

 

She glowered at him, fingertips gracing the edge of a petal. “I’ll ask, then you better pay up.” 

 

She left afterwards, taking the flowers with her and Gavin didn’t even bat an eye. It occurred to him that that was most likely what Gavin had texted her. To come get them, to take them off of his hands. Did he hate them? Had Nines miscalculated?

 

He swallowed, gathering his courage before turning to his partner and bubbling out quicker then he meant to. “Why’d you give them away?”

 

“Hm?” Once Nines gestured to the officer seated at her desk, setting the gift inside a mug of water did Gavin nod his head. “Oh yeah, people put her shit on my desk all the time when she’s out.”

 

“Excuse me?” He can’t help but to ask. Because _what the fuck._

 

“Whenever she goes on patrol- people feel safer when someone looks after their shit or delivers them. More often then not they make me the fuckin’ delivery boy.”

 

He….must admit, he had not taken that into account. He’s so caught off guard that he doesn’t realize how quiet he’s being until Gavin turns away, back towards his computer and keeps typing. And Nines?

 

He also gets back to work, sighing softly under his breath and staring at the carnations from across the room. He’d have to try harder. 

______________________________________

 

His second attempt is no better. 

 

He now has a teddy bear. It’s not big, small enough to be carried in only one hand, which his envelopes. There’s no doubt in his mind that Gavin will most likely be able to hide it, if need be, and put it relatively anywhere. He tries not to let the trashcan count as a place, but the possibility is still there. 

 

It’s small and brown and plush, fluffy fur and a big smile that he has come to understand humans just like. It holds a heart, happily stitched with a message of endearment between it’s paws and Nines is positive this would be a more fitting gift. Because Tina has expressed a disinterest in these bears, only because of a bad memory she has which Nines had been close enough to overhear. 

 

This time, he has it set on Gavin’s chair. And once more, he has to wait for Gavin to get back from his break. 

 

It doesn’t take as long as the first time, but instead of walking straight for his desk, Gavin is staring down at a folder inside his hands. He is making his way right to Nines and stands before him for a moment. 

 

Nines can’t help but to think that he is very handsome whenever he’s deeply focused, and his wisdom and experience shows in the way he scans the information. Takes in clues and notes and any other comments scribbled down onto the papers he holds, a strand of his hair falling onto his forehead. Nines wants to run his fingers through his hair but refrains, afraid of the implication it might have. 

 

So he waits to be addressed, admiring the human as he patiently stays sitting. Silent. Gavin sucks on his teeth, running his finger over a line before he turns it to him and he’s about to say something. Probably important, when Gavin is on-task, Nines has no greater joy then watching the intelligence he unfolds right before his eyes. The detective was very smart, when he needed to be. Nines thought it was cute. 

 

“Our vic had som-“ But before he could even get the statement- or question- out, a child’s wailing cut through the silence. 

 

Every head in the station turned towards it, shrugging before returning to work. It was nearest to the front desk, probably some citizen making a report on some disturbance or maybe just someone visiting a family member in the cells. Could be a bail, too. 

 

But Gavin frowned, the crying carried on. 

 

He went to continue with his earlier musings, shaking his head and attending to get right back into his work. He leans closer to Nines, as if it would help, and starts again. 

 

“Someone had to have came in during ten and twelve-“ The sobs turn into harsher cries, little stomping feet on the ground. Gavin grimaces. 

 

He turns to look, no doubt firing off question after question inside his head. Then his gaze swivels to the bear Nines had left him and he feels the same rush of energy surging through his wires. 

 

Gavin walks up to it and grabs it, he’s looking way too analytical about it and now Nines feels nervous. The detective pets it, squeezes it, turns it this way and that before nodding to himself. He begins to take off with it and Nines might just combust except-

 

Well, Gavin did not keep this gift either. 

 

He hands it to the little girl crying, shushes her, and offers to hold her hand while her mother finishes whatever business she was doing. The little girl smiles, and Gavin wipes her tears. 

 

Nines has to watch them chat for a bit, and he’s jealous when the child asks Gavin to be her Valentine because all her friends are at school and she cannot attend because of an aliment. And he agrees, he lets her crawl onto his lap and color pictures of her family and pets, her friends, and finally one for him. 

 

Gavin kept her gift, put it inside a drawer he frequently opens and grins too wide when his eyes catch it. 

 

When the girl leaves, Nines watches her back as she skips and waves to his partner goodbye. 

 

How could a child be so successful, _and he can’t?_

______________________________________

 

For his third attempt, he tries to be suave. 

 

Studies and experience of others informs him that people tend to have a weakness for foreign languages. He hopes Gavin has the same, desperately wishes he does. 

 

When the detective blunders into the break room for a replenishment, Nines follows and waits until his mouth is full before he even begins to speak. He chose to undergo French- the language of love, of romance, of every symbolism to likefulness he can think of. 

 

“Tes yeux verts me captivent.” 

 

Gavin slurps at his noodles, leftovers no doubt from the case he had taken home and probably slaved over. “Mhm, oui oui or whatever. Baguette.”

 

Nines shows him an unimpressed look, the human snickers and that's the first positive reaction he’s gotten all fucking day. So he presses on, forcing himself to believe that it was working. 

 

“J’aime à quel point tu peux être doux.”

 

Those green eyes flicker up to him, and there’s a heavy pause as the detective takes his time chewing. His chopsticks tap a pattern into the side of the takeout box. Once he swallows, he so eloquently replies with a stale; “Shit, I like crepes too. Good job, buddy.”

 

Then he’s stuffing the remains of his lunch back inside the fridge, stealing a bottle of soda he had purchased this morning and walked right past him. Nines grumbles, and honestly, he does like Gavin. He thinks Gavin is a very quick learner.

 

But _god fuck if he wasn’t so stupid right now._ Idiotic, and adorably dumb. 

______________________________________

 

Movies. He’d try to ask Gavin to the movies. 

 

Humans went to the theatre, watched hour long films, used horrible excuses to be close to one another during the time and walked each other home. There’s an exchange of pleasantries and a promise to try again. Sometimes, a chaste kiss to the cheek or it skips right to the full on kissing. Nines wants that. He makes a step by step plan to try and get to that level, he fully plans on it working, too. Or he hopes it will. He hopes with everything in him. 

 

They’re both seated at their desks, Gavin’s feet kicked up on the edge of Nines’s desk and he permits it because everything has to be perfect if he wants that yes. If he wants Gavin to just give him a proper chance. 

 

He tries to approach the topic bluntly, but with enough vagueness to it to not be alarming. 

 

“I hear that it is customary for a couple to attend a movie during such holidays like today.”

 

His partner looks at him weird, like he shouldn’t have said what he said, and he was beginning to think that too. 

 

“I mean shit, sometimes, yeah.”

 

“How do you feel about such activities, Detective?” So far, so good. Gavin hasn’t trekked away from him and there were no crying children to steal his thunder. Things were fine, he just needed to keep his statistics for an acceptable outcome high. He could do that, it was simple enough. 

 

“Well, considering I’m gonna be feeding my demons at home- I don’t give two shits about movies.” Nines was going to interrupt and ask him- _finally fucking ask_. But Gavin kept talking, not noticing that the RK even opened his mouth. “But it’s kinda a fat fucking waste. I wouldn’t fuckin bother, you aren’t missing out on nothin’ anyway.”

 

“Oh,” is all Nines can manage to say. Fuck. 

 

“Shits way too expensive, too many people. Plus, the traffic? Terrible. God awful. Why go through hell when I can watch it all from home? Then there’s the horrid excuse to coddle up to someone like a fucking dweeb.”

 

He glances off to the side, feeling a sense of guilt for indulging in thoughts of that very ‘terrible’ deed. 

 

“Why ya askin’?”

 

“No reason.” Nines lies and smiles, tip lipped and fake. “Just curious about human behavior.”

______________________________________

 

His fifth attempt, much less materialistic then the rest, is his last one that he will try. 

 

The day is nearly over, the precinct is thinning in it’s number of people and Nines knows that Gavin will stay late. Because he’s working very hard on understanding the lengths this killer is going through to undermine them all. He’s so immersed he doesn’t even hear the music that Connor had started playing, hadn’t yelled at him. 

 

It only plays love songs, and very slow ones at that. Once in a few runs there will be an older song he knows that Gavin would enjoy, but the man is just too deep in his work to notice and Nines doesn’t want to frustrate him by being a distraction. 

 

It’s only when Gavin pauses to stretch that Nines feels as if he’s allowed to intervene. The RK gets up to move and hovers to the side of the detective’s desk. Overlooking his thousands of words and characters, silently checking over his grammar and only making small changes with his wireless connection to it. 

 

“You should move around, detective. It is not good for you to stay so crowded.”

 

And for the first time that day, Gavin agrees with him and stands up with his arms raised and yawning. Nines tries not to get his hopes up, tries not to feel invigorated with senseless software instabilities. 

 

He’s going to ask the human to dance with him. He’s already downloaded a few programs so he will be nothing but perfect and smooth and flawless. He wants Gavin to desire him in the same fashion Nines longs for him. He just needs a moment to show off what he has learned. One moment can make history. 

 

“Do you know this song?” Nines asks, not straying far from the human’s side. 

 

Gavin takes a moment to listen, then shakes his head. “Nah, sounds alright though.”

 

“It’s very lovely, makes for easy steps and expellable footwork.” He makes sure his voice is suggestive, jams all the eagerness aside to make him sound unbothered, unprompted. He attempts not to let his systems heat up when Gavin raises a brow, interested. 

 

“Oh? Ya don’t say?” Eyes dance up and down his form, Nines shudders. This time, he thinks, this is the attempt that will be successful. 

 

“Yes.” Gavin smiles, so Nines quirks his lips into a smirk. He takes a step forward, offering his palm to the detective. He’s so close, _so close-_ “I can show you, if you’d like.”

 

“Well Nines, never knew you’d-“

 

_“Fuck, where did I leave it?”_

 

Gavin stumbles a few steps away from him and Nines turns to glare at the person who dared to mess this up. It was Lewis and he didn’t seem to care that he had ruined Nines’s last chance at getting things to progress between him and his partner. He deflated, let his shoulder hunch just a bit as he sighed. The officer goes in and out, as quick as that, but Gavin looked a bit timid now. 

 

Shy. And apprehensive. 

 

Nines wants to try again but Gavin, once more, has him beat. 

 

“Should get back to it. Almost done after all.”

 

Defeat has never tasted so bitter. 

______________________________________

 

Nines stands at his charging station, eyes shut as he slowly begins to power down. It’s a bit of a process he has, to remain fully operational and optimal. But it relaxes him to run through it all. 

 

First he clears any clutter inside his folders, takes the time to isolate any virus he might have picked up or any fault in his firewalls from an attempt, and then he stores his data. Uploads it to a cloud of memory for him to access at any time. 

 

Then it’s only a matter of making sure his surroundings are all in order, which he does beforehand. But scans the building a final time before he settles. 

 

He’s about to slip into his stasis when footsteps approach him, and if he had his motor functions fully online, he would react. 

 

Lips press against his, soft and sweet, lingering and he feels the warmth seep into his mainframe the longer they rest there. He’s leaning slightly forward but not by much, because he cannot move much with the slow descend into powering down. 

 

He wants this kiss to last, to keep going, he’s wanted it all day. All week, the entire month- _months, really._ Nines cherishes it, loves it, wishes he could cup Gavin's cheek to hold him there and yank his jacket to pull him closer. But he can’t, so he stands as he is. Still, soaking in the affection, the heat. 

 

He’s dizzy with it. From trying to focus when his processors are shutting off. 

 

Before he’s entirely down for the night, he hears a faint but quiet voice. He’ll say it’s a fond tone, too. 

 

“Happy Valentine’s day, ya weirdo."

**Author's Note:**

> For those wondering;  
> Tes yeux verts me captivent- Your green eyes captivate me.  
> J’aime à quel point tu peux être doux.- I like how sweet you can be.  
> Oui- yes
> 
>  
> 
> Nines: IM TRYING TO LOVE YOU!!! ASSHOLE!!!
> 
>  
> 
> also hi yes, I wrote this just the smallllllest bit drunk so hahaha this grammar should be fun


End file.
